Population control ‘a weapon of the West’

Andra Wisnu ,  The Jakarta Post ,  JAKARTA   |  Mon, 07/27/2009 11:05 AM  |  National

Speakers at a conference for young Indonesian Muslims Friday, urged the audience to denounce birth control methods such as condoms and the government’s family planning program, claiming such measures were part of a conspiracy to weaken the country.

At Ragunan Sports Center in South Jakarta, speakers at the conference titled, “Young Muslims, save Indonesia with Sharia and the Caliphate” asked the young attendants to reject contraception based on the rationale that reducing the population would weaken the country and draw it further into the conspiracy plans of the West.

“The effort is further supported by prohibition against marrying, such as the age limit to marry and give birth, which is above 20 and below 30,” said Nadiya Rayhan, a student activist from the Islamic State University (UIN) during the conference.

She said one of the government’s family planning programs, Teenage Reproductive Health (KRR), had allowed teenagers to learn about sex and practice sex freely, which is denounced by Islam.

Furthermore, she said the program’s information about abortion has disseminated the idea that it was acceptable for young Indonesian Muslims not to have children, which she linked to an attempt to weaken the country.

“This is clearly an attempt at genocide that has been planned carefully by the West,” she said.

Cicin Yulianti, a student activist from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, elaborated on the “genocide” conspiracy further, saying that more people in Islamic countries would increase the possibility of stronger human resources.

She also said the fact that the population of Western countries, 20 percent of the world’s population, which consumed 80 percent of the world’s agricultural resources, signaled a motive for the West to obstruct population growth in Islamic countries.

“Young Muslims must wake up to this conspiracy,” she said. “Young Muslims must not eat up the poison packaged by the West with jargons like ‘caring about your reproductive health could give you a prosperous life,’ which forces Muslims to reduce in number”.

The conference was held by Hizbut Tahrir, an Islamic organization based in Indonesia. There were no men in attendance and the Ragunan Sport Center was filled with women and young girls clad in headscarves.

Several women and girls interviewed by The Jakarta Post said the conference was useful, though most of them did not understand the concept of sex or abortion.

Intan, a 17-year-old girl from an Islamic high school in Cibubur, said she had heard about the conference from a Koranic group that she always attended and decided to attend to increase her knowledge of Islam.

“I think it’s useful as it helps me to gain more of an insight into what Islam allows and what Islam prohibits,” she said after the conference.

Dina Hariyani, a teacher from an Islamic school in Jagakarsa, South Jakarta, said she hoped speakers would be more clear about the concept of sex and how to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

“I hoped that my students could come out of this conference at least knowing what sex was about,” she said.

“But my students said they still did not understand.”

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Andrew2410 — Tue, 07/28/2009 - 3:35pm

"Clearly an attempt at genocide that has been planned carefully by the west". It's an interesting theory but I cannot agree. The "west" (however you define that.. anywhere west of Turkey? Anywhere where people have white faces?)is not out to get you. I believe the answer and the power to control your life is within you. Join in. Be strong. Be self confident. Become global citizens. Think "us" instead of "us and them". Just ask your self. what exactly are you anti? Anti immorality? Anti alcohol consumption? Anti corruption? Anti terrorism? Anti dancing? Anti smoking? Anti contraception? The list could go on. These are not things that are forced on us. They are all ultimately lifestyle choices which we have to make for ourselves, guided by our personal moral codes and our religious faith. We have to be strong. The temptation is always there. Blaming it all on someone else and getting angrier and angrier is avoiding the issue and will not help. You and I and everyone else still have to make the decisions about how to live our lives all by ourselves.

David K. — Mon, 07/27/2009 - 12:04pm

I wonder if these people are aware of how idiotic they sound? While I'm all for pro choice, including if you decide to have 10 children, the concept of economics should be a large factor.

Having one child myself I always consider the best lifestyle such as the cost for food, shelter, and education to name a few, and the costs are somewhat staggering even at my current income. I do not know about these people, but I care about my child and I wish and plan for the best life for him. That includes being prepared for sending him to university, and the type of lifestyle he will live growing up in my household.

To denounce proper family planning is evil and extremely insane. When i say that is because each family must look at thier income and judge the proper amount of children they should have to provide the best opportunities for thier children. One giant example is if you make enough either as a farmer or in income to feed say 4 people, what do you do when you have 4 children? Do you divide the food amongst the 6 people (2 parents and 4 children) causing a lowering of nutrition for the children? This is tantamous to starving a children, which I think Mohammad would never condone. This is on the foundation that the 2 parents are also not caring for thier elderly parents themselves. This is a clear cry to not care about the wellbeing of the children brought into this world, because population control is an evil western plot to weaken indonesia. I'm assuming this people also believe that the Jews control the world, and that the Pope is actually the representative of Satan and all that is unholy in the world.

What we should currently think about is the extremely high level of uneducation, poverty, and unemployment that plagues Indonesia with it's current human resources available to Indonesia and see what we can do about that, then if economics allow (for each child to reach his or her potential through education) then they can know how many children is good for them.

What type of education platform do these school provide to these Islamic activists that without real authentic logical evidence they talk about Population control is a plot of the west to destroy Islamic countries.

Back in the days that these Islamic activists dream of pushing Indonesia back into, people had many children due to high mortality rate and needing helpers on their farmland. Due to technological advances and lower mortality coupled with clear issues of supply and demand (more people on the planet demand more things such as food, space, etc etc) clearly shows that we should reduce or manage the amount of children each family produces.

It saddens me that people actually go to these rants, as they attempt to muddy the waters of knowledge with misquoted facts, half truths, and increase doubt and misunderstanding.

My suggestion for these people would be to learn how to teach about sex and abortion, and population in a logical manner that co-exists with thier religious code (difficult for these type of people to comprehend, but can be done). But more thought should be made into economic wellbeing of the Islamic people of Indonesia, before shouting, "Go forth my kinsmen and reproduce as much as possible for in numbers we are stronger then the corrput west and shall triumph in Islams name on the vileness of all that is western." All the while there are children begging on the street, starving in our villages and cities, and not getting any proper education to assist them to tackle the future. Imagine that there are still areas in Indonesia where the illiteracy rate is still 80%. Do these people care?

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